An interesting consequence of the development and wide scale adoption of the Common Core State Standards is the unified focus it has created for many schools. Educators across the nation are talking about and paying attention to the "Common Core." Though frequently laced with words like mandates, accountability, evaluation and funding, to educators' credit, the primary topic fueling these conversations consistently wraps around effects on teaching and learning. Where are you and your school in this conversation? What questions and concerns and inspiration do these standards inspire for you?  Wherever you are, one of the most exciting aspects of this work is that you are not alone. Now is a wonderful opportunity to network and share resources, approaches...and questions. 

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Common Core State Standards: Where do we begin?

by Joanne Picone-Zocchia

Depending on your role in the school system and the local and/or state expectations, the question, "Where do we begin?" tends to be accompanied by more or less of a sense of urgency.  It can be tempting to quickly lay out a series of activities that could provide a road map for working with the Common Core State Standards, especially when this question is delivered breathlessly and followed by several exclamation points.  Without a few pieces of information, however, that course of action may not be very productive.  As with any change initiative, the keys to where you begin lie in defining the ultimate expectations for where all of this will lead, in an understanding of where you are now relative to where you intend to go, in the identification of key players to be involved, and a time frame for the journey from here to there.  Once these pieces are addressed, the response to the question, "Where do we begin?" becomes far more approachable. read more